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Take Note: Note Taking Tips &

Tricks

In this session…

Lecture NotesAre you listening?“Do I need to write this down?”Taking effective lecture notes

Getting the most out of Text BooksA system for readingGuidelines for marking your text

Lecture Notes

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Are you listening?Listening is…

• Receiving

• Attending

• Comprehending

• Remembering

ReceivingReceiving

PROBLEM:I have trouble hearing the instructor.

SOLUTIONS?

AttendingAttending

PROBLEM:I tend to become bored, distracted, and sleepy when I listen to someone talk for long periods of time.

SOLUTIONS?

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ComprehendingComprehending

PROBLEM:The instructor might as well be

speaking a foreign language.

SOLUTIONS?

RememberingRemembering

Here’s where a good notetaking strategy comes in…

RememberingRemembering

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First of all…

How do you know what to write down?

Clues that certain points are important…

TIME BLACKBOARD/OVERHEADEMPHASISVISUAL CUES from the INSTRUCTORSUMMARY STATEMENTS

Tips For Effective Notes:

Abbreviate.Use lots of paper and only write on one side.Leave underlined spaces if you can’t keep up.Compare notes with another student.Spend 5-15 minutes reviewing your notes A.S.A.P after you take them.

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Two Very Different Styles of Notetaking

Cornell Method

Clustering/Mapping

The Cornell Method:

Divide Notebook Paper into three sections:

•6” column for notes

•2 ½” margin for questions

•2” space at the bottom for a summary

The 5 R’s of Cornell:

•Record

•Reduce

•Recite

•Reflect

•Review

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When would you use Cornell?

Clustering/Mapping:

Start with main topic in center

Sub-topic 1

Sub-topic 2 3…

When would you use Mapping?

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So after you take all of these notes, what do you do with them?

Recite

Reflect

Review, Review, Review

Useful Supplies:

1 Three Ring Binder/Spiral Notebook per subjectPen with multi-colored inkHighlightersPost it flagsConsider special paper:

http://www.eleven21.com/notetaker/

Getting the most out ofTEXT BOOKS

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So, Text Books…You just sit down and read ‘em. Right?

…Not Exactly

The SQ4R System of Reading & Taking Notes from a Text…

S-Survey

Q-Question

R-Read

R-Record

R-Recall

R-Review

Survey

• Leaf through the chapter• Pay special attention to:

The IntroductionTitles and Sub-titlesCharts, Graphs, and IllustrationsAnd especially Review Questions at the end of each chapter

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Question

Formulate a question for each heading or sub-headingWho, what, where, when, why, how…Read for the answers to these questions

Read

Take it one paragraph or one section at a time.

Look for the main idea of each paragraph

Take note of words that are in italics or bold face type.

Record

• Using a style of notetaking that works for you, write down the important ideas in each paragraph/section.

• Especially note:Items in listsDefinitionsAnswers to any Review Questions from your Survey of the chapter.

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Recall

Take a minute to see how much you can remember.Rehearse your notes out loud.See if you can answer the Chapter Review Questions.

Review

Before you start a new chapter, review your notes from the one before.Pull out all of your study notes and review them on a regular basis.—This way, you’ll avoid cramming later.

Guidelines for Marking Your Text

Do not mark as you go. Instead, mark after each paragraph or section.

Mark words and phrases instead of whole sentences.

Number parts or items (i.e. 3 parts of a definition, 4 causes of something, 3 requirements, etc.)

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Making Lectures and Texts Work Together

Be an active learner…1. Anticipate what the instructor will cover in

class.2. Survey any material that will be covered before

class.3. During class, use a system of taking notes that

works for you.4. Read the text more carefully following the

lecture, and take notes.5. Review your lecture and reading notes and

formulate possible test questions.6. Study often for short durations of time.

We learn…

• 10% of what we READ

• 20% of what we HEAR

• 30% of what we SEE

• 50% of what we both SEE & HEAR

• 70% of what is DISCUSSED WITH OTHERS

• 80% of what we EXPERIENCE PERSONALLY

• 95% of what we TEACH SOMEONE ELSE.

-William Glasser

TThhee AAccaaddeemmiicc LLeeaarrnniinngg CCeenntteerr We teach the tools that are indispensable to learning

Ebbinghaus Curve of Remembering

110000%%

7755%% 5500%% 2255%% 00%%

WWeeeekk 11 WWeeeekk 22 WWeeeekk 33 WWeeeekk 44 The general, overall conclusion about forgetting is that most forgetting takes place immediately after information is encountered and then slows down when notes are not taken and reviewed regularly.

PP ee rr

cc eenn tt

RR

ee mmee mm

bb eerr ee

dd

Frequent and regular review of material to be learned interferes with the normal process of forgetting.

RReevviieeww RReevviieeww RReevviieeww RReevviieeww

MMaakkiinngg tthhee ggoooodd bbeetttteerr

aanndd tthhee bbeetttteerr bbeesstt

About 47% of lecture material is forgotten within 20 minutes without taking

and reviewing notes

About 98% is forgotten in 2 weeks when notes are not

taken and reviewed regularly

5/97rev6/98 Created by Dennis H. Congos, Learning Skills Lab, Academic Learning Center, Central Piedmont Community College, 103 Garinger Building, Charlotte, NC 28235 704-330-6474

The Cornell Note-taking System

Notetaking Column

1. Record: During the lecture, use the notetaking column to record the lecture using telegraphic sentences.

2. Questions: As soon after class as possible, formulate questions based on the notes in the right-hand column. Writing questions helps to clarify meanings, reveal relationships, establish continuity, and strengthen memory. Also, the writing of questions sets up a perfect stage for exam-studying later.

3. Recite: Cover the notetaking column with a sheet of paper. Then, looking at the questions or cue-words in the question and cue column only, say aloud, in your own words, the answers to the questions, facts, or ideas indicated by the cue-words.

4. Reflect: Reflect on the material by asking yourself questions, for example: “What’s the significance of these facts? What principle are they based on? How can I apply them? How do they fit in with what I already know? What’s beyond them?

5. Review: Spend at least ten minutes every week reviewing all your previous notes. If you do, you’ll retain a great deal for current use, as well as, for the exam.

Cue Column

6” 2 1/2”

Summary

After class, use this space at the bottom of each page to summarize the notes on that page.

2”

Adapted from How to Study in College 7/e by Walter Pauk, 2001 Houghton Mifflin Company